The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Trivia/Quotes/Goofs/Games/etc. - Online Community

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

- Trivia Facts

The last guest on "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The" (1962), Bette Midler, sang a show tune parody. Jay Leno's first guest, Billy Crystal, also sang a show tune parody.
The "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The" (1962)'s previous host, Johnny Carson (I), never once appeared on successor Jay Leno's show. Carson did, however, appear twice on rival late night talk show "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) (in a walk-on appearance soon after Letterman's show debuted, and later in a filmed sketch). In the years following Carson's "Tonight Show" retirement, he reportedly contributed jokes to Letterman's monologues from time to time.
Became the first late-night show to air in HDTV in 1999.
Unlike his predecessor, Johnny Carson (I), whose guest hosts were a staple almost from the beginning, Jay Leno went for a full decade before presenting his first guest host, Katie Couric.
Jimmy Brogan, who co-wrote Jay Leno's opening monologue from 1992-2001, was usually seen sitting off to the side of the audience. Once in a while, Jay would make a bet with Jimmy if a certain joke worked or not, and the loser would pay the winner in front of the camera.
When Leno does bits at his desk where he will hold up fake products (e.g., "Read the Fine Print" or "Amazon.com's Worst Sellers"), a production assistant named Joey has been seen just off-camera catching the objects that have already been used. He allegedly first got that task because he bet on the Chicago Bears to win Super Bowl XLI. (The Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 29-17.)

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